Family
by Shihanne
Summary: [DA02] "Don't try to be heroes because of us; try to be heroes because the Digital World needs you. Understand?"


"…I refuse to believe it."

Scratched all over her body and face, Chisato slowly pushed herself up, her hands balled into fists. She faced the MetalTyrannomon in front of her – the one she and her friends been fighting for more than three months now, the one that must have some key to the end of this battle that had been threatening the Digital World for quite some time.

This long story was about to come to an end, but she could not let it end like this.

"You are somehow expecting to believe that my father was responsible for atrocities on the level of yours? My father, of all people? The father I've looked up to all my life, probably the most morally sound person in both worlds…you must be really stupid, if you think I'll fall for that…"

She grit her teeth and stood up further.

"Aquilamon. Keep attacking."

Chisato's Aquilamon bent in and began to swoop over, but she was extremely exhausted and fell over as well. MetalTyrannomon laughed.

"So naïve...you cannot hope to be heroes of the Digital World with a soiled bloodline like this. Now, accept your fate."

He raised a claw and aimed it towards Chisato's head.

"Not so fast!"

MetalTyrannomon found his claw quickly held in place by a Stingmon, who also looked extremely battered but was holding onto it for both his life and Chisato's.

"Don't talk nonsense like that…"

Behind Chisato was her younger brother, Taro, partnered with the Stingmon and even more beaten down than Chisato. Yet in his eyes, one could see his burning determination to defeat the Digimon in front of him.

"You're not going to get very far…and we're going to stop you regardless of what you say about us or our family. And as for our father…"

He put his head forward and Stingmon threw off MetalTyrannomon's claw.

"I think we have a little more faith in our father than that!"

Incensed, MetalTyrannomon held up his left arm and started to fire up a laser as Chisato and Taro could do nothing but stare in horror, until –

_Clang._

A spike hit MetalTyrannomon directly in the side, throwing the missile off.

"…Ah?"

A figure standing in front of them with another Stingmon by his side, the face that the two children had known and loved all their lives…

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from my children."

Right next to him stood a woman, of whom the two children also knew equally well. Both of them, standing in front of their children, ready to protect at all costs – former heroes of the Digital World – and very, very intent on protecting their children.

"Let's go, Miyako."

If one had asked Chisato and Taro about their parents in a normal setting…while they certainly had a great deal of respect for their parents and the reputation they held, they would probably have jokingly said that their parents were pretty lame. But it was hard to apply that to the sight they were seeing now; Miyako and Ken were poetry in motion, years of having fought together and with their Digimon perfected to an art. The attacks of their Stingmon and Aquilamon were perfectly alternating, done to increase maximum damage to MetalTyrannomon without giving him an opening to attack.

After a fashion, Miyako turned to face her children with a knowing look. The two nodded.

"Aquilamon!"

"Stingmon!"

Chisato and Taro's Aquilamon and Stingmon flew headfirst into the battle, and the combined four attacks resulted in a large cloud of dust that, once cleared, showed no sign of MetalTyrannomon; he'd probably fled like he did every day when the kids fought him, like the coward he was.

"Mama…" said Chisato. "Papa…you're off work? Already?"

"My job is not as important as you two are. Now, we need to get those injuries treated…"

* * *

Miyako deftly wound the bandages around her daughter's leg; the tension made her wince a bit but ultimately felt much better.

"Mama…"

"You're still worried about what he said to you, aren't you?"

"Yeah…"

Miyako looked at her husband and saw him silently dressing Taro's wounds. She knew that he'd been dreading the day he'd have to tell his children about this. It was surprising, in fact, that they didn't know it earlier, but given that the history of the Digital World still had yet to be formally taught in schools, and that everything that most people knew was bent on hearsay, they'd somehow managed.

"Listen. When we were fighting within the Digital World, we were younger than you were. You know that, right?"

Both children nodded (though it was clear they were having difficulty imagining their parents as immature children).

"We were young. We did a lot of stupid things, things that we regret. We made a lot of mistakes and did many things we shouldn't have. I think your father and I have paid for those mistakes enough and we've worked very hard to undo them. Well, I don't want you thinking on that. I'm sorry if our mistakes are burdens that you now have to carry, but that should not change who you are. The Digital World's future belongs to you – we no longer have the part in it that we used to. Don't try to be heroes because of us; try to be heroes because the Digital World needs you. Understand?"

Chisato and Taro nodded.

"And, about your father…"

Ken looked up.

"Your father did many amazing things. Many of the things he has done saved the Digital World – several times over. That is how I want you to know him. Not because I want to sugarcoat anything, but because that is who he is, and that's why I married him. He's worked very hard to fight evil, both inside and outside. You've seen him at work, at home – do you really think your father is the type to be truly evil?"

Both Chisato and Taro shook their heads.

"I wouldn't put it the same way your mother did," said Ken, "but regardless, she is right. I don't know if I can say I've paid for mistakes I've made in the past, but the last thing I ever want is for that to hinder you, and MetalTyrannomon is a coward for trying to use that against you. Hold your heads up high."

"Papa, we…"

"We want to be heroes of the Digital World like you were…"

"Then you're missing the point. You should be heroes because you want to be, and not because of whomever you think I am."

Miyako smiled gently at her husband and children.

"Let's go home. Your little brother is waiting for us."

Chisato froze.

"Wait…don't tell me you left him at home by himself…"

"Of course not! I had Aunt Hikari take him for the time being."

"But what are you going to do if you have to come over and Aunt Hikari's not around…"

"By that time I expect him to be perfectly capable of coming to the Digital World on his own!"

"That's…kind of risking it…"

"I'm sure your mother knows what she's doing," said Ken.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, I feel like one of these days she's going to kill him…" whispered Chisato's Hawkmon.

"I heard that!"

The happy family walked away from the battlefield and back home.


End file.
